


A Million Lightyears Away

by KrystalM



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Space, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempt at Humor, Cadets, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Hate to Love, Humor, Love/Hate, M/M, Misunderstandings, Space Programs, Starfleet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2016-02-18
Packaged: 2018-05-06 04:25:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5402903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrystalM/pseuds/KrystalM
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim had always wanted to be an astronaut. He wanted to explore space, he wanted to see what lies beneath the stars. When he finally gets his chance to participate in the latest space program to a planet named Vulcan, he didn't think his instructor would be someone from the said planet. What more, Jim didn't think that someone so alien could be so annoying and infuriating. Quickly, Jim learned, that no, he did not like this Vulcan named Spock. Too bad he's stuck on this mission with Spock as his crewmate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Not mine!
> 
> A/N: Hey guys~ So, uhm, I know it's been a while since I posted anything in this fandom and well, it's mainly because I didn't have anything good to write about until--this idea came to me. I'm also on my sem break now, so I thought to spend my holiday with writing~ I hope you guys like this and well--yeah. Enjoy!

 

 

James Tiberius Kirk, he always had the dream about reaching the stars—not metaphorically but literally ever since he learned that space exploration was possible. His passion lied under what the skies held for him. His friends never understood what was so fascinating out there, for all they cared, it was just a black blank space with nothing interesting floating in a vacuumed medium.

 

But Jim saw other things besides that. Somehow, he felt connected to space. It was the mere thought that there might be something out there made him interested in space even more. Living in Iowa, the view of the night sky was quite clear and he loved every moment he could tilt his head to look at the stars.

 

His parents were fascinated with the fact that he was so interested in something that sounded so impossible. But Jim didn’t give up. He wanted to get out there, he wanted to broaden his horizon. One day, he believed that he would be able to do it—able to just touch the stars.

 

His dreams didn’t die even when he grew up, even when everything seemed rough. His interests helped him to graduate from high school faster than any of his friends could, managed to head to university before he was twenty and even managed to get his PhD before he was twenty-five in astrophysics.

 

Before he knew it, he ended up working with Starfleet. He still couldn’t believe that he had managed to work at the heart of all space exploration programs. Starfleet was a tough non-government organisation to get into. They founded all the space exploration programs and Jim didn’t think for one second that he would be able to get there. But when he first joined them as an astrophysicist, he didn’t think he would be stuck analysing pictures by pictures of planets and meteors in his office taken by the satellite.

 

No, he thought he would get to finally explore things out there in person. But that wasn’t his job. No, it turned out, that wasn’t even close to his job. He thought that was it, he wasn’t going to make it after all. After a few months working for them, he still sighed thinking about how he wouldn’t actually get into a spaceship or a rocket and finally see the outer world.

 

That was until one day, he finally got the chance he was waiting for. He glanced at the email he received in his inbox. He had to blink a few times just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. But he found out he wasn’t when he pinched himself on his arm and he was still there, in his office, staring at the screen.

 

The words were still there, written into sentences, telling him about the things he finally yearned to read, to hear. He felt joy bubbling in his chest as he tried to hold back his grin because no, he shouldn’t get so excited first. But he failed desperately when the words were still there flashing in front of his eyes.

 

They had selected him as one of the candidates for their latest mission. The details of the mission weren’t specified; just that he was chosen to be a possible candidate for this latest space exploration mission. He almost leaped out of his seat at the mere thought that this was it, he was so close. He could finally taste it.

 

His dreams were just behind this email. Well, not literally but he was far too happy about this to care for metaphors. He took in a deep breath as he leaned against his chair and stared at the email. God, he was finally going to do it. He ran his shaky fingers through his already messy blond hair. The smile finally spilled over his lips. He quickly replied that he would accept this mission without hesitation.

 

He was so fucking ready for this.

 

***

 

He got response from the head twenty four hours after he replied. They had specified the date, where to meet and what to wear. It didn’t tell him anything else about this new mission and it didn’t cross Jim’s mind to actually ask what it was. He knew that everything here was done in top secrecy. Nothing was to spill past anyone's lips and sometimes, they didn’t even know what was going on half of the time.

 

This type of secrecy was just that tight. They even signed a contract, to maintain the secrecy and to bring any secrets to grave if they quit or resigned from Starfleet.

 

Jim had found the terms and conditions intimidating at first because he felt like he was plotting some kind of world domination, but as he learned quickly, he realised that it was indeed better to keep all of these missions, discoveries and theories away from the public eyes and ears. All the speculations that he got to see every day occasionally shook him to the core.

 

Sometimes, the public just wasn’t ready to see what the reality had to offer—what the deep dark dangerous space had to offer. Sometimes, it was best that they just didn’t know what was going on.

 

The alarm woke him up, ringing loudly in his empty bedroom. Jim felt his mind getting harassed with the blaring sound. Groaning under his breath, he tried to search for the alarm to shut it off. He felt the endless pile of work from this entire week dragging him down and he needed more time to sleep, he needed this. But when he failed to locate the alarm clock, he realised that it was best if he woke up.

 

He blinked a few times to get rid of the grogginess before the images flickered in his head. Then, his mind was alerted enough to warn him that today— _today_ was the day. Jim immediately pushed himself up and sat down on the bed, his eyes wide and frantic. His heart started to beat heavily against his chest as he looked at his alarm clock.

 

It was almost eight in the morning! Jim scrambled out of his bed and headed to his closet, already taking out his black shirt and pants, the Starfleet Headquarters’ regulation clothes, and headed to the bathroom.

 

Quickly cleaning himself up and making himself look presentable, he headed to the kitchen to find something to eat. The debriefing would begin at nine and if he left now, he would be able to make it just in time. He grabbed the banana from the basket fruit and headed to the front door of his apartment. Grabbing his wallet, Starfleet ID card, his smartphone and car keys, he decided to head out.

 

***

 

Just like how Jim had predicted, he made just in the nick of time. He showed his ID to the security cameras near the doorway to the meeting room and was immediately granted access. As he walked in, he saw the other candidates inside, all have taken their seats and some even seemed to have been acquainted with one another.

 

The blond-haired man suddenly felt a bit odd, because he realised, he didn’t know any one of them. True, he was the most social guy anyone had the chance to meet. He was talkative, he liked to flirt (hey, there wasn’t anything wrong with harmless flirting, right?) and he was always giddy. It was just who he was. But right now, he felt ten times different because any one of them here, right now, could be his crewmember later on.

 

A possible crew member, if he ever could pass the tests and experiments.

 

He navigated himself past the crowd carefully until he found an empty seat and sat down. He glanced around the people and found himself analysing each and every one of them, hoping that they would be friendly enough for him to actually talk to. Just then, someone sat next to him, already huffing out in what seemed like annoyance.

 

Jim glanced at his new seatmate and grinned when he caught a grumpy looking man, just muttering to himself about something. The blond-haired man simply eyed him carefully, wondering why this man looked utterly miserable with a scowl plastered on his face and was about to introduce himself when the man himself glanced at Jim. His scowl deepened almost immediately when he caught the blond-haired man staring at him.

 

“What do you want, kid?” the man asked, his voice gruff and deep with annoyance. Jim’s eyebrows rose at the nickname and frowned slightly.

 

“I’m not a kid,” he told the man. “I’m James. Dr James Tiberius Kirk.”

 

Jim held out his hand as the man gingerly eyed him and took the handshake with a feeble shake of his own. After a while, the man said, “Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy. Doctor Leonard McCoy.”

 

“Medical doctor?” Jim asked as his curiosity peaked at the title this scowling man held.

 

“Yeah,” Leonard said with a gruff. “And I’m guessin’ you ain’t a doctor.”

 

Jim raised his eyebrows once more, wondering what Leonard meant with what he said. “I’m not,” he confirmed a while later. “I major in astrophysics.”

 

The doctor’s eyes seemed to widen slightly before he whistled. “Wow,” he said. “PhD then.”

 

“Yeah,” Jim said with a grin and the doctor simply stared at him for a second before he shook his head.

 

“You look so young, kid,” he said and Jim’s grin faltered again at the nickname.

 

“I’m not a kid, Bones,” Jim said, using the man’s nickname. Leonard didn’t seem to mind being called Bones as his lips twitched into a smirk. “I’m twenty-six.”

 

“Yeah, still a kid,” Bones snorted. “Unless you’re old like me, you’re still a kid, James.”

 

“Jim,” Jim corrected Bones almost immediately. “I’m called Jim by almost everybody. James is too formal.”

 

Bones simply rolled his eyes though Jim knew that he was liked by Bones already. The man smirked before he settled into his seat and stared at the crowd around them. “Why are you here, Jim?” Bones asked after a minute as the blond-haired man settled into his seat properly as well.

 

“I was chosen,” Jim said though from the doctor’s look, he guessed that wasn’t the right answer.

 

“Everyone here is chosen, kid,” Bones snorted. “I meant; _why_ are you _here?”_

 

“Because I wanted to see what lies out there,” Jim answered after a while. He couldn’t help but to include the slight awe in his voice. Bones simply looked at him though his scowl was back on his lips. Jim raised his eyebrows as he found himself intrigued with this man sitting next to him. “What?”

 

“Let me tell ya’ somethin’, Jim,” Bones said as he huffed out his breath in a dramatic fashion. “There ain’t nothing out there but emptiness.”

 

The blond-haired man was slightly surprised to hear that from the man who was here willingly. “Then why are you here?” Jim asked back and the older man snorted.

 

“Nothing else for me here,” he said and Jim couldn’t help but to realise that the man sounded bitter. However, the blond-haired man didn’t pry why the doctor was feeling that way and decided to leave it at that. He wouldn’t know how to deal with someone else’s complications anyways. Bones kept quiet after that and so did Jim. Before long, the doors to the conference hall opened and everyone went to take their seats as a few people entered the room.

 

Jim recognised one or two of them, but not all. He watched as they walked and stood in front of them, already holding a bunch of files and one of them decided to hand some papers out to the crowd.

 

Just then, the older one among all of them took a step forward, looking at each and every one of them with seriousness before he took the microphone from one of the technicians. The hall went dark for a moment before the screen in front of them started to filter in with images.

 

“Hello and thank you all for coming here today,” the man spoke, his voice booming through the hall. “I am Admiral Christopher Pike, the head of this program and the one handling with the selection for this program’s crewmembers.”

 

Jim could see how the people in front of him and around him had begun to whisper in excitement. Christopher didn’t seem to mind before he spoke again, silencing the crowd once more. “As you all know, our programs entitle the main goal, to explore new possibilities out there. And when we find new possibilities, we make sure we bring this knowledge for the next generation to know. Right now, we have made another new discovery, that took us years to gain success and now, we have finally established this program. What we need now are reliable Starfleet crewmembers for this program.”

 

The images on the screen, Jim noticed, were pictures of scientists working on the distance between their planet to—an unknown one that soon the words ‘Vulcan’ appeared on the bottom in bold letters. Jim frowned for a minute because that sounded weird for a planet’s name. Usually any new planets were given names with a number at the back, to plot their charts in the solar map properly.

 

Jim, himself, had never known that there was a planet named Vulcan before.

 

“As you can see, this new planet was discovered four years ago, when something that we initially thought was a meteor, crash landed near Artic. But alas, it was founded that this—meteor—was not as it seemed.”

 

The next picture that appeared was a picture of—a ship. A spaceship, Jim realised as his eyes widened at the realisation. His mind took in the facts and something like glee and excitement rushed into his veins, because seriously, that was incredible!

 

“This, however, wasn’t our first contact with—extra-terrestrial life,” Christopher continued as Jim’s ears burned with the words. This wasn’t their first contact? That mere thought alone made Jim grin widely because, he had been right. The world had been right. They weren’t the only ones here, they weren’t alone. And to know it now that it was true, that some other living organism was out there, was something so incredible to know, that the mere scary prospect of it didn’t register to Jim.

 

“We had several contacts before, and we had several missions of us trying to get there and—some have even succeeded. We even have alliances with the said planets, but that’s not why we’re here. You all are chosen to be here and just know, that none of you will not be chosen by the end of the day. However, those who will embark on this particular planet will be chosen based on the results from the series of tests and experiments that you, cadets, will be put through. The rest, you will be taken account on your own test results to be assigned for your own respective missions. All of you are chosen because you are the best in what you do and we believe, you will be the best in what comes next.”

 

Jim couldn’t believe that this was really happening. The lights turned back on as the screen went white. The Admiral took a step forward as he glanced over his shoulder and nodded at someone. That someone took a step forward, his hands behind his back and his posture straight and steady. He wore a cap with the Starfleet symbol on it.

 

“This is Commander Spock,” Christopher said as he introduced the man next to him. “And he will be the one in charge to determine who is suitable to join him on this mission to Vulcan. Also, there is something else to be said about him. Commander Spock is not—one of us.”

 

The sudden murmur from the crowd filled the once silent auditorium. Jim’s eyes widened at the words as he felt Bones stiffening in his seat. “What?” Bones whispered under his breath as Jim nodded to his words. The Admiral glanced at—Spock, and back to the crowd.

 

“He is one of the residents of Vulcan,” Christopher continued. “He is a _Vulcan_.”

 

Almost immediately the murmur got louder. Even Jim was trying to comprehend the words. Now, the shock was settling in because this was a lot to take in for the day. The Admiral let them murmur for a while before he raised his hand and silenced everyone. “I know it’s a shock for all of you here and it is a lot to take in. We shared this information with you because you are all chosen, you all have given consent on this mission, thus we trust you all with the secrecy of this mission, the secrecy of this issue. Have I made myself clear?”

 

 Jim nodded to the words as his eyes was trained on the tall—Vulcan. He looked—human, he noted as he nudged Bones. “He looks human,” Jim said.

 

“What the hell,” Bones said and Jim was actually sharing his sentiment, because what the hell indeed.

 

“Right, before we dismiss you all to your quarters, any questions?”

 

Jim didn’t know why, but the need to know the answer to why this Vulcan looked human had him suddenly raising his hand. Bones froze in his seat as he looked at the blond-haired man and mouthed, ‘What the fuck, kid?’

 

Jim ignored him as the Admiral pointed at him and nodded. Jim stood up and almost immediately all eyes were on him. However, he couldn’t find himself to care about the attention as he laid his eyes on the Vulcan, who was staring back from under the cap at him. “What is your question, cadet?”

 

“Hi, uh,” Jim started before he licked his lips. “Why do you look so human?” Jim directed the question straight to the Vulcan.

 

The question caused silence to ripple through the auditorium as Jim watched the Commander become tense. His shoulders were squared and his face went unreadably stoic. Jim didn’t know why that intrigued him, but it did. The Admiral smiled slightly at the question before he glanced at the man next to him. Handing the microphone over, the Commander took it before he opened his mouth to speak.

 

“We may look the same as Humans, but I am not the same as the species,” the man spoke, his voice was deep and calm and held no trace of emotions. Jim raised his eyebrows, wondering what that meant.

 

“But you look so human,” Jim said and he noticed the Commander had become tense again. “Are all of you so human looking or is it only you?”

 

That question caused the man’s eyes to harden and Jim suddenly felt like he had said the wrong thing. “Cadet,” his voice pierced through the silent air. “Are you suggesting that my appearance does not ease you?”

 

“Well,” Jim said with a shrug. “I thought you guys would be more—you know, not so-Humanly. Different. Not so human-like.”

 

“I see,” the Commander said but it didn’t sound like he understood what Jim was trying to say. “Perhaps in this timespan of one year, you would learn everything that is different about you and I, and when you do, I believe you would not mistake me as ‘so Human-like’ again. If that would be all?”

 

Jim raised his eyebrows at the sudden snap at him but he nodded curtly anyways and sat down. The alien stared at him for a second before he handed the microphone back to the Admiral, the cap shadowing his dark-coloured eyes even more. Jim couldn’t help but to feel like he had just pissed the man off. He felt Bones glaring at him from the corner of his eyes.

 

“What?” Jim asked finally as he looked at his seatmate.

 

“Seriously, kid?” Bones asked. “He sounds like a hobgoblin.”

 

Jim didn’t know how to respond to that but he did smirk as he shook his head. Soon, when there were no more questions, the Admiral dismissed them. Christopher and his own crew left the auditorium but not before Jim caught the Commander staring at him one more time before he left as well. The blond-haired man simply frowned at the thought.

 

“Come on, Bones, let’s grab our dorm keys and schedules,” he said as Bones huffed out loud and followed him.

 

As Jim tried to process what just happened, he wondered briefly if he had accidentally offended the Vulcan. But he hadn’t really meant for the question to sound so offensive. Maybe it was uncustomary for their culture to address one’s look so openly. Finding himself amused and even more intrigued, he wondered if he would be meeting with the Vulcan soon. He got his dorm key from the receptionist and his schedule before realising that his roommate was none other than Bones.

 

Deciding he should see his dorm room, he dragged Bones there, already forgetting about what happened.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Not mine. 
> 
> A/N: Hey! Here you guys go, the next chapter! I'm sorry it took so long. I was just sorting out the plot flow and all, yeah. Te tests and experiments, I--have no knowledge of whatsoever, so some might sound familiar but most of them probably would be made up through logic. Ahaha, okay, anyways, thanks to those who have read, commented, kudos, subscribed and bookmarked. Until the next chapter! -Krystal

 

 

The dorm room wasn’t that big neither was it too small. It was just the perfect size for two people. Bones huffed as he sat on his bed that was located on the left side of the room. Jim glanced around before he grinned, satisfied with how the room was.

 

“Seriously, could you believe that alien?” Bones said after a while, catching Jim’s attention. He looked at Bones before he frowned slightly and sat down on his bed, shrugging. He didn’t know what the Vulcan’s problem was but he had a creeping suspicion that he had offended him. It was unintentionally though, Jim noted in his mind.

 

“Maybe I offended him or something,” Jim said as Bones caught his blue eyes. The doctor snorted before he leaned against the wall, stretching his legs on the mattress.

 

“Sure, if the hobgoblin could feel,” Bones said with a bite. Jim raised his eyebrows at the bitterness.

 

“That sounds xenophobic, Bones,” Jim pointed out though he couldn’t help but to grin when he caught the glare that the older man was giving him.

 

“Sure,” Bones snorted. “It wasn’t enough that we don’t even understand about our race and now we’re trying to understand about them? Good luck.”

 

Jim simply rolled his eyes. “Oh, cheer up, Bones,” he said as he tucked his legs close to himself and sat down on the bed properly. “It’s space, man. Space!”

 

“Great,” Bones said though it held nothing near excitement like how Jim felt. Somehow, he felt slightly put off with the attitude. He frowned as he stared at his roommate.

 

“Why the hell are you here anyway if you don’t want to be here so much?” Jim finally asked. Bones glanced at him before he sighed slowly and rubbed the back of his neck.

 

“I have nothing to lose,” Bones said with a feeble shrug but Jim saw something else in the man’s negative behaviour. It seemed like the older man was broken somewhat from inside. It was like he was trying to move on from something and this space program could be his redemption. Bones noticed Jim’s stare before he cleared his throat. “I just got my divorce, had to leave my daughter.”

 

Jim felt slight wash of sympathy for the man. “Oh,” he said and he felt uncomfortable with this situation all of a sudden. As smart as he was, he was never good with emotions. That was the Kirk curse. He never had felt real emotional attachment before. The only thing that had ever kept him feeling was this dream of his.

 

Nothing else, nobody else had made him felt anything. Even during his adolescent years, he tried to love because he wanted to know what it felt like to do so. But every time he thought he felt something, it died so fast he didn’t even realise it was there in the beginning.

 

He sensed like everyone he was with wanted something from him, wanted him to stay, wanted him to sacrifice something for their happiness but Jim—he wasn’t that selfless. He wanted to make himself happy first before he made anyone else happy. He didn’t want to live in regrets, just to stare back at the golden days only to ask himself when he was older why he didn’t take a chance when he had it.

 

He didn’t want to lie to himself about what he really wanted.

 

So, he gave up on the prospect that anyone would make him feel more. He knew that he was still young and he still had time to find the right person, but the connection that he was searching for; seemed so—foreign for it to exist in this world.

 

Who he wanted, how he wanted that person to be was so—surreal. He didn’t think anyone like that would exist and he never searched for the person out because he knew, they _wouldn’t_ exist. Maybe in another life when the world had advanced, when acceptance to other worlds was done, maybe that person would be there but today, right now, in this lifetime, Jim didn’t believe they existed.

 

He didn’t harbour the hope he would meet his true love, someone that would finally make him feel something more—something different, something that would made him think that his dream was not that important, that would make him think that that person was all he ever needed for now, and forever.

 

That person did not exist and would never exist.

 

And even if they did, Jim doubted they would want someone like him, so goal-centred, someone so—him. He removed the thoughts from his head as he looked at Bones and gave him a sympathetic smile. The doctor simply waved his hand at the blond. “Nah, don’t worry about it, kid. I still get to see my angel whenever I want to.”

 

“What’s her name?” Jim found himself asking when he saw the spark in those eyes.

 

“Joanna,” Bones said with a smile, the first real smile Jim had seen since he had known the man. “Joanna McCoy.”

 

“You’ll see her again, Bones,” Jim said, trying to change the tense atmosphere to something light. “This program isn’t forever.”

 

“I know, kid,” Bones said with a snort. “But for now, I just want to get out of this damned place. Even if there’s nothing out there but more weird people, at least I’m far away from here for a while. Just—for a while before I see her again.”

 

Jim guessed the man was fresh from his divorce, fresh from the pain. The blond-haired man quietly watched how Bones struggled to keep himself check before he finally dropped his shoulders. He rubbed his face before he glanced at Jim. “What about you, kid? You said you wanted to see something up there. You sound awfully sure that there would be something there besides weird alien predators and monsters.”

 

Jim just grinned widely as he rolled his eyes at Bones. “Bones, there’s more out there if Commander Spock was anything by it,” he said as he licked his lips, the sudden image of the Commander flashing in his mind. “It’s just—something I wanted since I was young. I never thought about anything else before. I don’t think I want to.”

 

Bones stared at him quietly before he smiled. “Well, kid, you got your wish now.”

 

“Yeah,” Jim said with a chuckle. “Yeah, Bones, I did.”

 

***

 

Jim decided that they should head out and meet the rest of the people in this program, even if they wouldn’t really be close to them. Bones protested for a minute but gave up when Jim only grinned widely at him. As they ventured down the hallway, Jim noticed that some of them had already begun talking with their neighbours, laughing at their own jokes and just making amends with each other.

 

Bones simply rolled his eyes before muttering something though a smirk played on his lips. Jim continued to take a look at the candidates in this program before they ended up at the cafeteria. Just then he realised that his stomach was grumbling and the only source of food he had since this morning was that banana.

 

“Hungry?” Jim asked as he walked to the cafeteria. Bones didn’t answer him but he followed the blond-haired man anyways. Jim got himself something like a sandwich while Bones got something healthier, a chicken salad with lemon dressing. The blond-haired man eyed the food as if it offended his senses to be seeing it in front of him. The doctor noticed his apprehension and raised his eyebrows.

 

“What? Never seen a chicken salad before, kid?” Bones asked though Jim caught the light humour in his voice.

 

“It’s salad,” Jim finally said as he looked away from the plate and around the cafeteria before he spotted empty seats at the corner. He walked over there with Bones following him. Sitting down, he placed his tray of food on the table before he glanced at the salad again.

 

“Stop being weird, Jim,” Bones said as he stabbed the salad with his fork and brought the forkful into his mouth. The blond-haired man still eyed the food like it was poison before he went to eat his sandwich. Just as he was about to talk to Bones, someone stood in front them, catching their attention.

 

Jim glanced up and found himself staring at a beautiful woman, holding out her own tray of food meanwhile there were two men standing behind her, peaking at them over her shoulders. “Hey,” she said as she smiled. Jim swallowed his sandwich before he smiled back, turning on his Kirk charm.

 

“Hey,” he said slowly as she raised her eyebrows in what seemed like amusement.

 

“Can we sit with you two?” she asked as Bones simply made room for them wordlessly. Jim nodded immediately as the two men beamed at him before all three of them sat on the empty chairs.

 

“So, does this pretty lady have a name?” Jim asked, smoothly. She simply gave him a smile though he noticed the dangerous flash in her eyes.

 

“Uhura,” she said quickly before she glanced at the men. “These are my friends.”

 

“Hey,” Bones said shortly though he didn’t look pleased with the company.

 

“Hello, I am Pavel Chekov!” a Russian boy spoke as he introduced himself to Jim and Bones. He had bright eyes and his lips stretched into a huge smile before he glanced at the doctor.

 

“Hey,” Jim said. “I’m James Tiberius Kirk. This is Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy. People call him Bones.”

 

“You call me Bones,” Bones pointed that out but Jim ignored it as he grinned at Uhura.

 

“I’m Hikaru Sulu,” the Asian man introduced last as he smiled.

 

“It’s nice to meet you guys,” Jim said sincerely though he found himself looking right back at Uhura, who was now busy eating her soup or some sort. “Does Uhura have a first name?”

 

Uhura glanced at him before her smile turned into a smirk. “Uhura would do for now, James.”

 

“Ah, okay, no need to tell me twice,” he said with a grin. “Call me Jim. All of you can call me Jim. I don’t really like people calling me James.”

 

“Jim,” Sulu said as he chuckled. “What you did at the hall back there, that was really brave of you.”

 

Jim raised his eyebrows at the compliment. Ah, they meant him irritating the Vulcan. To be honest, he really hadn’t meant for him to come out rude or offensive to the Commander. He really meant the question to be purely out of curiosity. He gave them a sheepish smile before he shrugged.

 

“I really didn’t mean it to sound offensive,” he said. “I mean, he looks so human.”

 

“But he’s not,” Uhura said with a muse. “They have pointed ears.”

 

Jim glanced at Uhura, wondering how in the world she knew that. She licked her lips before she gestured to her head. “The cap that he wore, it actually hides the tips of his pointed ears. It makes him look human.”

 

“How—did you know that?” Bones asked after a while. Uhura looked at him before she gave out a dashing grin.

 

“I observe,” she said before she shrugged. “Besides, it isn’t hard to miss those pointed ears. Trust me, it’s easy to catch them when you’re sitting in the front row.”

 

Jim deliberated that in his head as he slowly took another bite of his sandwich. That probably explained the reason he wore the cap in the hallways. The curiosity about the Vulcan increased tenfold as he wondered what else might be different about him and them. Uhura glanced at him before she raised her eyebrows. “What?” she asked.

 

“Huh?” Jim asked as he looked back at the eyes that were staring at him. “What?”

 

“You have that look on your face, like you’re ready to do something,” Bones said as he narrowed his eyes at Jim. “What are you gonna do, Jim?”

 

“Nothing!” Jim said. He grinned widely as he pushed away any thoughts about the Vulcan to the back of his mind. He would muse some more about the alien later when he was alone. Things rarely intrigued him but when they did, Jim would have a hard time letting it go until he had quenched his curiosity. Sure, sometimes the answers weren’t what he was looking for—but most of the time, he was glad he found the solution.

 

The Vulcan was another enigma that seemed to be waiting to be solved.

 

“So, what do you guys work as, you know before this recruitment? Bones’s a medical doctor,” Jim said, changing the subject.

 

“I’m a linguist,” Uhura said as she smiled. “I can speak over forty languages including three extra-terrestrial ones.” Jim’s eyes widened at the accomplishment as he heard Bones almost choke on something.

 

“What? How’s that possible? Three extra-terrestrial languages?” Bones asked as Chekov glanced at him and nodded.

 

“She works for Starfleet in numerous assignments before,” Sulu said as Jim glanced at her.

 

“Never saw you around before,” he said but Uhura simply smiled widely at that.

 

“Then I’ve been doing my job well,” she said and Jim got it then that she must be one of the secret scientists working for Starfleet. He noted that down in his head as he nodded, quite awed at her. He could already feel some trickles of respect growing for her.

 

“Pavel and I are pilots,” Sulu said as he grinned widely. “Now we’re test pilots for ships and aircrafts, spacecraft.”

 

“Yes,” Chekov agreed as his smile grew dazzlingly. “I am seventeen!”

 

Jim once again had a moment of lapse as he tried to register that in his head. “Seventeen?” Bones asked as he looked at Russian boy. Sulu laughed as he slapped Chekov’s shoulder.

 

“This guy’s a genius,” Sulu said proudly. “He graduated first before anyone of us could.” Chekov’s cheeks reddened and Jim had to note, it made him look even younger.

 

“We met in the same university,” Uhura said. That explained how comfortable they were together. “We didn’t think we’d get selected together like this.”

 

“Lucky, huh?” Jim asked with a grin.

 

“What about you?” Sulu asked. “What do you do?”

 

“Astrophysicist,” Jim said with a shrug. “I work for Starfleet, analysing some pictures of planets captured by satellites. It sucks.” He didn’t even try to hide the bitterness of his job. Bones simply rolled his eyes though he caught the smile on his lips meanwhile the rest looked at him amused.

 

“Don’t be fooled, he’s only twenty-six and a PhD holder,” Bones snorted out as Jim felt a sheepish grin working on his face. He actually felt embarrassed with the praise as he cleared his throat and tried to ignore the gazes that fell on him.

 

After that, it was just more conversation about what they were expected to do, how they were going to get along and how excited they were to move forward with this program. Jim participated in the conversations whole-heartedly, wondering for a moment if this was what it must’ve felt like if he actually fit in somewhere.

 

***

 

First day of this whole ordeal for the next twelve months started and Jim couldn’t contain the excitement as he walked with Bones next to him, heading to Hall 2 down Hallway A.

 

It was slightly confusing to navigate through because he rarely had been to these sides of the company, but once he knew where to go, it was quite simple really. Bones glanced at him before he rolled his eyes. “Do you have to bounce?”

 

Jim looked at him before he grinned, showing off his trademark grin. “What? Aren’t you excited, Bones? This is exciting!”

 

“Sure,” Bones said dryly. “Sure, kid.”

 

Jim chuckled at his friend as they finally found the door. Showing off their identification cards, they were allowed in. Jim noticed how almost all of the candidates were already present, sitting in the large auditorium. The blond-haired man didn’t wait for Bones’s suggestion on where to sit, instead, he strolled to the second front row seat and sat down at the corner.

 

The doctor simply stared at him unamused for a few seconds before he let out a defeated huff and sat next to him. “Why do we have to sit this close to the speaker? We could still hear well even if we sit at the back.”

 

“It’ll be fun,” Jim said as he patted Bones on the shoulder. “Besides, we get to see the speaker clearly without being obstructed with millions of heads in the way.”

 

“I wouldn’t say millions,” Bones grumbled but Jim deflected that grumble away.

 

The doors to the auditorium opened again and this time, everyone quietened when they realised who walked into the room. Jim glanced to the front and raised his eyebrows when he realised it was that Vulcan dude. He was still wearing his cap, covering almost half of his face. He walked to the centre of the stage, his posture strong and sturdy.

 

Jim knew what test was held today. It was something easy first, before they would have to spend more time on harder experiments and tests, to ensure they were qualified for an interstellar exploration. If Jim could pass all the experiments and tests with flying colours, he would be selected for this mission and that was what he wanted with all his heart.

 

After a few moments of silence, the Vulcan took the microphone from one of the stage managers and looked at the cadets in front of him. Jim watched him silently glance at everyone in the auditorium before the Vulcan caught his own gaze and held it for a second or two. Jim found the gaze slightly uncomfortable and wondered what this alien was trying to do.

 

Breaking the eye contact, the Commander spoke into the microphone, starting the talk. “Greetings,” Spock said as he raised his hand into what seemed like a peace sign. The Vulcan made a gap between his ring finger and his index finger. Jim watched it silently before he looked down to his own hand. He tried to part it exactly like that and found that it was slightly harder than it looked.

 

“I am Commander Spock,” the Vulcan continued, dropping his hand to his sides once more. “I will be fully responsible for all the tests and experiments conducted on the cadets that relates to the mission to my home planet, Vulcan.”

 

The alien glanced around the auditorium again as if to ensure that he meant the words before he continued talking, his voice was confident and if not a bit stern. It showed that this Vulcan in front of them only wanted full on cooperation and nothing more and certainly nothing less than that. The blond-haired man was again intrigued with the alien’s demeanour.

 

From just a few minutes of him speaking, Jim could actually say that this man didn’t know what fun was even if it kicked him in the butt. Maybe ‘fun’ wasn’t cooperated in their DNA. Jim didn’t know but from the way the Commander stood and from his speech pattern, it definitely screamed ‘serious’.

 

It made Jim rethink his decision to find out more about Spock. The last thing he needed was to offend the Vulcan again and get kicked out of the program. He frowned slightly to himself before he settled into his chair a bit more comfortably.

 

“I expect full cooperation from each and every single one of you, cadets. This is a serious and perhaps the most important program you will all have the privilege to participate in as a Human race. I, myself, am honoured to show to you what my home planet looks like and ensure the warm welcome the Human race deserves,” Spock said, his voice sounded slower than just now.

 

Jim noticed how the Vulcan seemed to look slightly—deflated. He wondered if maybe Spock was stuck here for a while now and had no way of going back home because the lack of technology they had to fix his spacecraft. A wash of sympathy crept into his heart as he sighed gently. He didn’t know how it must feel like to be so far away from a planet he had grown up in.

 

All he knew was that it must be lonesome to be all alone here.

 

“As of currently,” Spock said, catching Jim’s attention. “We will begin with basic tests and physical evaluation to ensure that you are all fit for interstellar exploration. And approximately after four hours, you all are required to report to this hall again for a brief introduction on the respective missions before going into deeper explanation about Vulcan.”

 

Jim watched even more carefully as the Vulcan went quiet for a second, as if letting everyone to take in what he had just said. “Is there any doubts that needs to be cleared before we begin?” Spock asked as he stood straighter.

 

Bones patted his shoulder, catching Jim’s attention. “What?” Jim mouthed and Bones pointed to Spock with his eyes before the smirk crawled on his lips. The blond-haired man caught what the doctor was trying to say and simply rolled his eyes. “No way.”

 

Yeah, he wasn’t going to ask Spock anything else, especially not in front of so many other cadets. He didn’t want to offend the Vulcan again by accidentally asking weird questions that popped into his head. Maybe when they were in a less public setting, Jim would ask about his doubts but definitely not now.

 

“Very well,” Spock said when no one dared to raise their hands up. “If that would be all, you are all dismissed.”

 

Everyone started to get up and move about but while Jim was about to get up, he caught the Commander’s eyes again and for a moment, everything seemed to slow down and there was this sharp silence around them. Jim watched how he tensed briefly as he stood there and stared back at him. For some reason, the blond felt like he was being catalogued.

 

Before he realised what he was doing, he smiled at the Vulcan and raised his hand for a wave. Spock however didn’t do anything to reply and instead, he broke the eye contact and walked down the stage, heading to the door while pulling the cap even lower to cover his face. The blond-haired man felt like he was ignored and frowned at the feeling.

 

Huh, what was that all about?

 

A tug caught his attention as Bones watched him carefully. “What?” Jim asked only for Bones to raise his eyebrows.

 

“Who were you looking at so intently?” Bones asked as Jim rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks slightly reddening at being caught.

 

“Spock,” Jim said with a grin. Bones didn’t even hesitate to scowl before he huffed and walked past him. “What?” Jim questioned when his friend walked away. “What? Bones!”

 

Bones simply waved at him as he continued to walk. Jim rolled his eyes at the doctor and followed him, his mind suddenly plagued with the thoughts of the Vulcan. Why had Spock stared at him just now? Did he stood out accidentally somehow? Did Jim really offend the alien more than he thought he did?

 

But as much as he craved for the answers, he knew he wouldn’t get them if he didn’t ask Spock himself. Jim snorted to himself. There was no way he was going to do that, not yet that was.

 

***

 

Jim really hated physical evaluations. He rubbed his arm as he walked out of the clinic, glaring at the doctor who took care of him. The injection he received after getting an all clear from the doctor was painful. It was like he was being stabbed with a blunt knife.

 

Right after they entered the clinic, they were separated into two groups. The first group was supposed to finish the physical evaluation first before they were brought to the next location for their first test meanwhile the second batch would go next. Jim and Bones were separated immediately into two groups, Bones was in the first group.

 

“I’ll meet you back at the hall later, Jim,” Bones said as he waved at the blond-haired man and walked out.

 

He glanced at his wrist watch and briefly wondered if Bones had finished with his first test. Jim was sure the doctor would do fine. After finding his way to the first lab, he didn’t expect the sudden tests and experiments to start off immediately, from the basic astronaut breathing technique to the logic tests.

 

Jim almost failed at the beginning on the first test, but soon picked it up with a positive attitude. The instructors simply nodded at him satisfied when he finished before handing him a green slip, asking him to proceed to the hall in an hour. The blond-haired man knew that this wasn’t the hardest part yet. There would be even more challenging tests and experiments later on, and Jim took in a deep breath, just preparing himself for it.

 

His stomach suddenly grumbled as he was heading to the hall. He stopped halfway as he glanced ahead and decided that he would grab something to eat before he went to the hall. He glanced at his wrist watch once more and realised he still had fifty minutes to spare. With a nod, he walked to the cafeteria, noticing that there weren’t many people there.

 

Just some officers and scientists, all minding their own business and not talking to each other. Jim took a look at the menu being provided and decided to just get a simple sandwich since he didn’t have enough time to eat anything heavy. While he waited for his sandwich at the pick-up counter, he turned to look around the big cafeteria.

 

Just then, his eyes landed at someone at one of the tables, looking at what seemed like a tablet. Jim raised his eyebrows for a second before he realised why the man looked familiar. His breath hitched when he recognised the Starfleet cap.

 

“Spock,” Jim said to himself.

 

“Here’s your sandwich,” the lady behind the counter said, catching Jim’s attention. Immediately, Jim paid for his sandwich, smiled at her and turned around to once again locate Spock. The alien was still there when his eyes landed on him once more, holding the tablet while the cap covered his eyes and half of his nose.

 

For a second, Jim was contented to just stand there and stare but then, his stomach gave out another grumble and he had no choice but to find a seat to eat his sandwich. Actually, he could just eat his sandwich while he made his way to the hall, but something in him wanted to stay here, to keep staring at the alien.

 

He took a few steps forward before he realised that instead of finding another seat elsewhere, he was walking towards Spock. He immediately stopped walking when he caught on to what he was trying to do, but it was too late by then because he was already standing in front of Spock’s table.

 

Jim went rigid as he grabbed the tray of food tightly. Now what? He could just turn around and walk away. He immediately latched on the idea and decided to just do that when the Vulcan looked up from his tablet and caught Jim’s blue eyes. Then, the world stopped moving again.

 

The blond-haired man felt like he was being catalogued yet again as he noticed how Spock tensed. Then, after what seemed like a millennium of silence, Jim said, “Uhm, hi.”

 

If he could have kicked himself, he would. Was that the best he could come out with? Hi? Even a five-year-old could have done better! Jim berated himself internally as he gave Spock an awkward smile. He was intrigued with Spock. He wanted to talk to him even more, to tell him that he was sorry if he offended him in any way. But he hadn’t expected to do this so soon.

 

Spock simply stared at him, his eyes dark from under the cap before he placed the tablet on the table with a soft thud. “What can I help you with, cadet?”

 

The voice was emotionless and stern. It almost made Jim cringe if it weren’t for the fact that he was far too panicked inside to notice it. He licked his suddenly dry lips before he raised his tray a bit in gesture that he was holding it. “Uhm, mind if I sit with you, Commander?”

 

Commander Spock didn’t seem amused, then again, he didn’t seem to be feeling anything, Jim noted in his head. “You may,” Spock relented as Jim grinned widely at that. The panic that was once clogging his mind disappeared and he immediately felt ease that the alien didn’t seem to be kicking him for even suggesting to be in his presence.

 

Placing the tray on the table, Jim sat in front of Spock and sighed happily. “Thanks,” Jim said as he took a bite out of his sandwich. Spock watched him for a minute before he went back to his tablet, ignoring the blond-haired man.

 

Jim took the opportunity to observe Spock a little closer. Under the sunlight from the big windows, Jim noticed that his skin wasn’t like theirs. ‘Well, duh,’ Jim said to himself. The skin seemed to have slight greenish hue to it even though it wouldn’t be obvious in the dark.

 

The blond-haired man then slowly looked at the ears, trying to see if they were really pointed like what Uhura had said. But just like she predicted, the cap was covering his ears and he was unable to see if they were really pointed. Jim began to feel curious, wondering why Spock seemed adamant to hide himself under the cap.

 

“Hey,” Jim said, trying to catch Spock’s attention. “Why do you wear that cap?”

 

Spock looked up from his tablet and once again eyed him with those dark orbs. Jim raised his eyebrows, hoping he looked like he wasn’t intimidated with the look. “It is for specific reasons,” Spock answered monotonously.

 

“Yeah, I know, but why?” Jim asked, prodded some more.

 

“I am not sure why you would like to know, cadet,” Spock said immediately, catching Jim off guard with the defensiveness he heard in the tone. He blinked once and then twice before he took another bite of his sandwich, chewing slowly as he tried to process his question. Had he offended Spock again?

 

“Uhm,” Jim started as he swallowed his sandwich, Spock’s eyes never leaving him. “I just wanted to know. Curiosity, you can say. I just heard you have pointed ears and wanted to know if they’re real.”

 

Spock seemed to be slightly taken aback with the sentence. Jim ran the sentence in his head again to see if he had been rude. But when he came out with nothing, he frowned. Spock continued to stare at him before he placed his tablet on the table and took off his cap.

 

For a moment, Jim felt like he couldn’t breathe. Finally, he got to see Spock’s full face. The alien had pronounced features, high cheekbones and nose, his eyes were big and yet emotional. His skin was indeed in a greenish hue and there—Jim saw it. The ears, they were pointed at the tips.

 

“Woah,” Jim said as he licked his suddenly dry lips. “Woah, that’s…amazing.”

 

“Pardon?” Spock asked as Jim looked at him in the eyes and grinned. “Amazing?”

 

“Yeah,” Jim agreed as he watched how Spock eyed him warily. Somehow, without the cap, Jim could see the emotions running in those dark orbs even clearer. It took him aback when he realised that he was reading someone he just met—more less an alien. “I mean,” Jim continued, his voice now hushed from the sudden confusion of his own thoughts. “You’re…you know, good looking.”

 

Spock raised his eyebrows and Jim couldn’t help but to try and mimic the action only to fail. Jim noticed how the eyebrows were slanted too, giving off an impression that Spock was a serious guy. “I see. I am aesthetically pleasing to you then.”

 

“Yeah!” Jim said before his eyes widened with what he had said. “I mean, no! I mean—you’re a good looking guy, you know, generally.”

 

Spock remained quiet as he watched Jim once more. Then, he broke the eye contact and wore his cap again. “I believe that is a—compliment?”

 

Jim gave him a wary smile and he felt his cheeks reddening at the slight embarrassment. Just what was that? “Uhm, sorry, you know,” Jim finally said.

 

“I do not know what you are sorry for, cadet,” Spock said.

 

“For offending you or something, you know, with the question,” Jim said. “I was just curious. I guess they’re right when they said curiosity killed the cat.”

 

Spock’s lips tilted downwards slightly and Jim realised that he was actually frowning. “I do not believe that—curiosity is capable of killing a domesticated feline.”

 

Jim laughed a bit, taken off guard with the comment. “No, I mean, that was an idiom. Not to be taken literally,” Jim said as Spock nodded in what seemed like understanding.

 

“I see,” Spock said but the slight frown was still visible on his face. Jim finished his sandwich as he grinned at the Vulcan. Just then, Spock stood up, picking up his tablet. “I believe it is time to head to the hall.”

 

Jim nodded before he stood up as well, finding himself that he hadn’t even realised time had flown by so fast. He was slightly disappointed though because suddenly, he was even more curious of this Vulcan. Spock seemed so unique, and not because he wasn’t Human but because, he seemed to be harbouring more secrets than the Human race was prepared to know.

 

Spock didn’t wait for him as he threw away the trash. Jim huffed as he left the cafeteria, deciding to head to the hall fast. He only had ten minutes to get there. Maybe Spock didn’t want to be seen with a cadet entering the hall together. Just then, Jim realised that the Vulcan didn’t even know his name.

 

In fact, the Vulcan hadn’t even responded to his apology. Did that mean he wasn’t forgiven? Well, that didn’t sound good. He stopped walking for a minute as he thought about their conversation. Jim really needed to be careful whenever he spoke to Spock. It seemed like whatever he said, somewhat offended the alien.  

 

Huh, Jim thought with a slight frown. He would just have to introduce himself later then. With that thought in mind, he continued to walk to the hall.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Not mine!
> 
> A/N:...Hello? //shotdead// Ahaha...haha. Sorry? I'm so sorry. ;-; I was merely busy with my life, 'nuff said. I know this isn't much of a long chapter but because of the--business in my life, I'm a bit...stuck with the plot development. So far, this was what I've been able to write. Now! I hope this makes sense...ahaha. Besides that, I'll try and write and update soon! Thank you to those who have read, subscribed, kudos and commented! To those who have bookmarked this story as well~ Until next time! -Krystal

 

When Jim had reached the hall, he immediately spotted Bones talking to Chekov. Jim watched them interact for a few seconds before walking towards them with a grin. “Hey,” Jim said as Bones looked at him. Chekov grinned back in response.

 

“You’re late,” Bones said as he crossed his arms. “Where were you?”

 

“What?” Jim asked as he shrugged innocently. “I was hungry.”

 

Bones simply rolled his eyes before he pointed to the seat next to him. “Here, I saved ya a seat.”

 

“Thanks,” Jim said as he sat next to Bones. “So, what’re you guys talking about?”

 

“Just the normal stuff,” Bones said with a shrug of his own. Chekov simply beamed brightly. 

 

“Warp theories,” Chekov said with glee in his voice. “We were talking about zat.”

 

“Warp theories?” Jim questioned. Chekov nodded, his eyes shining with passion and interest. Jim grinned at the look, knowing that he had the same look whenever someone asked him about space and his dreams. Before Chekov could explain what warp theories were, the door to the hall opened and everyone rushed to their seats, quietening down when they realised it was the commander. 

 

Jim watched how Spock once again walked to the centre of the stage and eyed everyone in the hallway before settling on Jim for a few seconds longer than necessary. The blond-haired cadet didn’t shift under his gaze this time and kept his eyes locked to the darker orbs. Now that he knew how Spock looked like, he felt like he shouldn't be so intimidated by him. 

 

There was something different about the alien. Besides the obvious. And Jim was going to find what that was. 

 

“I believe you have all passed the tests being provided to you, four point two hours ago?” Spock spoke into the microphone. Some cadets nodded at his question. “Very well. Now, as said earlier, I will begin by explaining the details of the primary mission in great detail before proceeding to the secondary and tertiary mission requirements.”

 

Jim almost immediately focused on the primary mission details. He learned quickly that Vulcan was no place for Humans. The heat was severe and more or less, it was a planet with red sand. Spock made it very clear that those who would embark this mission were the ones who could at least withstand the heat with the least possible side effects. 

 

At that thought, Jim looked down to his skin and touched it, wondering if he could do it after all. But just as the doubt fleeted into his mind, he threw it away when he heard about how this mission was going to take place. 

 

“The spaceship required for this mission will be named U.S.S Enterprise. It is the first generation spaceship for a long term voyage. It will be equipped with some of the most advanced technology to make it suitable for this mission. For this ship, we would need at least 500 crew members, including the senior officers.” Spock made sure his words were strong and firm. Jim took in the information and grinned to himself for a second. 

 

Spock continued on about the specifications of the ship and who were already pre-chosen to be on the ship. “I will be holding the rank as the First Officer of the ship. The captain had yet to be chosen and will be chosen after six months, starting from today.”

 

Jim felt a rush of adrenaline in his body all of a sudden and a crazy idea implanted in his mind. What if _he_ became the captain? 

 

It was a ridiculous thought, honestly. How could he, the normal guy, ever captain an advanced starship? But it felt right all of a sudden. His mind and heart liked the thought of being able to captain his very own spaceship. He didn’t want to get his hopes too high, though. It was enough that he would be able to be involved in a space voyage, but just the thought of being able to lead the mission sounded almost—powering. Well, it was surreal to be honest, to him. 

 

He didn’t have any experience captaining anything. 

 

He wasn’t given the chance to anyway. Maybe he would be able to pull it off, he mused in his head. He had yet to explore that potential of himself. Was he made to captain a starship? Heck, did he have those leadership qualities in the first place? He didn’t know, but he couldn’t deny that he liked the idea. 

 

“Now, after six months, you will all be given ranks based on your track record, the amount of work you have contributed to the organisation and based on your experiment results. You will also be required to choose a pathway to specialise in the spaceship. You will begiven one week from now to choose your field to expertise and be required to fill in a form. Submit the form immediately after you have filled it.” 

 

Jim immediately nudged Bones and said, “I think I’ll be taking the command track.”

 

Bones glanced at him indecorously. “Seriously, kid?”

 

“Why not?” Jim said with a grin. The doctor simply stared at the blond-haired cadet before he rolled his eyes. He didn’t say anything else but Jim didn’t mind. Spock finished the lecture quickly before he dismissed everyone after some of the cadets had asked some questions regarding the mission. 

 

Once Spock left, everyone began to move out of the hall, heading to their dorm room to rest for the day. Jim was about to do the same too when Sulu came up to him. “So, what track are you going to be in?” Sulu asked and Jim grinned widely at the question.

 

“Command,” Jim said without hesitation. He knew that it would be a long shot before he could even dream about captaining his own starship and he knew he sounded greedy even to himself, but then again, when had he ever aimed low? If he could aim higher, he would. And this was higher. Sulu looked at him and grinned before he patted Jim on the shoulder.

 

“Captain, eh?” he asked. “Captain James Tiberius Kirk. Hey, that doesn’t sound bad.”

 

Jim agreed. Captain James Tiberius Kirk didn’t sound bad at all. “It might sound impossible but I think I can do it, Sulu.” 

 

Sulu simply nodded his head. “Jim, nothing is impossible. And besides, we will never know unless we try.”

 

Jim liked the way Sulu looked at things and slung his arm over the Asian’s shoulders. “You know what, Sulu? I think you’re absolutely right.”

 

Sulu simply chuckled. “It won’t be the first time.” 

 

“What about you?” Jim asked back and Sulu grinned widely as if someone had given him his Christmas present early. 

 

“I want to be a helmsman.” Jim nodded at that because yeah, he could imagine Sulu holding a position as important as that. 

 

“I think you can pull that off,” Jim said honestly and Sulu’s grin brightened. 

 

“If you think I can pull it off, I think you can do it too, being a captain,” Sulu said with his own dash of sincerity. Jim couldn’t help but to feel the slight slosh of excitement at being praised like that. The thought alone of being a captain to a spaceship, to an important mission, was a long shot dream that might or might not come true. Jim hoped that it was the former rather than the latter. 

 

***

 

“You what?” Bones asked as he sat on his bed, his eyes wide like two saucers.

 

“Yeah, I talked to Spock.” Jim had been meaning to tell Bones about his encounter with the commander ever since he walked into the hall. The doctor didn't react well to the news, instead, he seemed shocked. Jim sat at the edge of his own bed, picking at the edges of the pillow he was holding with an awkward smile on his face. 

 

“Where?” Bones asked once he schooled his face back to normal from the shock. 

 

“At the canteen. The reason why I was almost late.” Bones opened his mouth before he closed it. Jim simply watched the emotions playing on his friend’s face before the grumpy man decided on a frown and scrunched eyebrows.

 

“So, the reason you were almost late was because of the hobgoblin?” Bones asked, his voice careful and suspicious. Jim nodded to confirm. “And he spoke to you? In a _conversation_?”

 

“Yeah,” Jim said with a shrug as he hugged the pillow. “I mean, I didn’t expect to see him at the canteen, neither was I going to actually talk to him, but—I don’t know, I just did. I—I saw him without the cap, Bones.”

 

Now, the silence was slightly deafening. Bones just gaped at him for a second before he sputtered out, “You what?”

 

“I saw him without his cap,” Jim repeated what he said, slower. Bones took a minute or two before he responded.

 

“Seriously, kid?” Bones asked and Jim nodded without hesitation. “How did you make the hobgoblin take off his cap?”

 

“I just asked him if I could see if he really had pointed ears,” Jim said casually. 

 

“You just…asked him?” Bones asked sceptically. “That sounds suspicious, Jim. You asked him and what? Suddenly he letsyou see him without his cap?” 

 

Jim simply smiled at his friend. “Maybe I just have the charm.”

 

Bones snorted at that. “Congratulations, you got yourself a Vulcan.”

 

“Shut up, Bones,” Jim said but not unkindly. “I didn’t get myself a Vulcan. I just…he’s interesting, Bones. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t get the chance to explore more about them if you had the chance.”

 

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Bones said. “I just don’t think Vulcans are—the type for that.”

 

“Nah, type or no type, he’s interesting,” Jim said as he recalled back to the pronounced features on Spock’s face. “He’s…fascinating.”

 

Bones simply eyed him for a while before saying, “Do you have a crush on him, kid?”

 

Jim immediately looked at his friend in the eyes and snorted. “No!”

 

“You sure sound like you do,” Bones empathised. Jim shook his head because he didn’t have a crush on the Vulcan. He was fascinating, and—intriguing, but that was all. Jim wasn’t the type to believe in love at first sight. 

 

“Sure,” Jim said with a grin. Bones scowled at the look before he took a pillow and threw it at Jim, hitting it right at his face. The blond-haired cadet took the pillow down and raised his eyebrows. “You really think that was wise, Bones?”

 

“Anything to wipe that cocky smile off your face,” Bones shot back but without venom. His scowl twitched into a smirk and Jim chuckled before he took the pillow. 

 

“Well, let’s see if you can get rid of it,” Jim said before he threw the pillow at Bones. 

 

***

 

The next day, Jim was briefed about today’s schedule. His schedule seemed packed and he wondered briefly if he would get to breathe in the middle. Bones woke up earlier than Jim and decided to finish his tests sooner. Jim decided to take the schedule that would allow him some time to eat his lunch instead. 

 

But he was regretting slightly when he realised that even though he did have some room to grab lunch, he would only be truly free after four in the evening. He ran his fingers through his hair as he slipped his smartphone into his pockets and continued walking toLab 4. 

 

Showing his ID at the camera outside of the lab, he was granted access inside. He glanced around and found that beside him, there was already a group of candidates gathered around. He walked to the group but realised that he didn’t know anybody there. 

 

“It’s quite awkward, eh?” a voice said from next to him. Jim looked at the person and smiled when the man simply smiled at Jim. 

 

“That’s one way to put it,” Jim said. 

 

“Scotty here,” the man said with an accent as he held out his hand. Jim took the hand and shook it. 

 

“Jim,” Jim introduced himself shortly. 

 

“Jim, aye?” he asked and Jim couldn’t help but to find the accent suiting for the man. “Whatcha’ doing before this, Jim?”

 

“Astrophysicist,” Jim said with a shrug. “What about you?”

 

“An engineer,” Scotty said before he added, “Aerospace engineer.”

 

Jim whistled at that. “Awesome. Are you aiming for the Enterprise as well?”

 

“Aye’,” Scotty said without hesitation, his eyes brightened slightly. “She’s a dream.”

 

“She?” Jim said as he raised his eyebrows slightly. Scotty slapped his back playfully before he looped his hand over the blond-haired cadet’s shoulder, dragging him close. 

 

“It’s a she, alright,” Scotty said with a boyish laugh. “She’s a beauty. I’ve seen her blueprints before, y’know. I’m telling ya’, Jim, she’s the type of ship that’s going to leave you breathless.”

 

Jim found himself listening closely to the engineer. He hadn’t gotten to see Enterprise at all, but Scotty had. To be honest, he was slightly jealous at knowing that Scotty had gotten to see the ship before he did. But that somewhat made him want to get into this program, the main program, even more. 

 

“I’m sure she will,” Jim said, his heart thrumming with slight adrenaline at the thought that he was so close to getting there. The grip on his shoulder tightened before Scotty removed his hand. 

 

“I’mma be the lady’s engineer, chief engineer,” Scotty said dreamily. Jim couldn’t help but to feel the euphoria along the way. Somehow, one way or the other, these people here were not recruited just for their skills, but for their passion in different aspects of the ship. “Whatcha’ gonna do on the ship, Jim?”

 

“Honestly,” Jim said before he paused for a second. “I wanna captain the ship.”

 

Scotty went silent before he chuckled and slapped Jim’s back again. “Well, whadya know, you’re a spirited one, eh?”

 

Jim raised his eyebrows but he found that Scotty wasn’t actually mocking him. Surprised, perhaps, but he didn’t mock him. “You know, somehow, I have a feelin’ you’ll make a fine captain, Jim.”

 

“How would you know?” Jim asked as he playfully nudged Scotty. The man simply grinned wide, showing of his teeth. 

 

“It’s a feeling in the gut,” Scotty empathised as he patted his stomach. Before Jim could continue on with the conversation, one of the lab workers stood in front of the crowd and clapped his hand, catching their attention. They were briefed on the next experiment and before Jim knew it, he was next. 

 

The experiment wasn’t that tough. It was some basic test to check if he was suitable to face the planet’s gravitational force. He felt fine once he was done with the test, earning a green slip from the scientist who was in charge of the experiment. He tried to locate for Scotty once he was done but when he failed to locate him, Jim decided he would check on Bones instead.

 

Maybe he would bump into Scotty a little later. 

 

Jim walked down the hallway to his dorm room, wondering for a second if maybe Bones was back. Probably not, his mind helpfully supplied. Was Bones still running on his experiments?

 

He wanted to call Bones, to ask him if he was available but after consideration, afraid that Bones might actually still be in the middle of a test, he decided he would take a look around the place instead, mostly the gymnasium provided for the candidates. Jim had wanted to explore this uncharted building a bit more. Now that he was free for a little while, he guessed he could do just that. 

 

Jim didn’t take long to find the gym. He raised his eyebrows when he saw how big the inner gym was. There were many equipments ready for the cadets, they even provided a sparring match. There weren’t many people in, just some scattered at the sparring mat and some at the treadmill. 

 

He walked further inside and noticed how there was a beautiful view through the wall-sized windows located nearby the treadmills. Jim realised that the sky was in a brilliant blue. There wasn’t even a single cloud out. It seemed like the scenery he was seeing was probably the small park located in the compound. 

 

His eyes caught on a familiar figure, sitting at one of the benches and looking down on a tablet. The Starfleet cap was a dead giveaway to who it was. Jim felt the slight fluttering in his chest, the want to go and seek the said person. He chewed his inner cheek for a second before he found himself leaving the gymnasium.

 

As he ventured outside, he couldn’t help but to jog slightly. He knew that by this rate, he might end up obsessing over the Vulcan. He should stop while he wasn’t so far ahead. And yet, here he was, a few feet away from the said alien, who was busy typing on his tablet with his cap once again covering half of his face from Jim’s view. 

 

Jim hesitated as he stopped walking forward. What was he going to say to him once Spock looks at him? He hadn’t thought that far yet. He should probably just turn around and walk away before it was too late. But then the sunlight shone on the Vulcan and Jim found himself staring for a second. 

 

When the Vulcan looked up from his tablet and met Jim’s eyes, the blond-haired man’s breath hitched. The pronounced featured were slightly dulled because of the cap and Jim couldn’t help but to want to take off that horrible cap from obstructing the view. 

 

He gulped and felt his cheeks reddening as he tried to calm down his fast-paced heartbeat.What was he doing right now? His feet had brought him here without hesitation even when he really didn’t have to see Spock. They just met, for God’s sakes. 

 

Spock continued to stare at him unblinking and Jim could already sense the awkwardness. Jim shifted from one foot to another in the midst of this awkwardness. Before Jim could finally come to his senses and leave, the Vulcan had already stood up and walked towards him. 

 

His hands behind his back and his shoulders straight and strong, Spock said, “Cadet, you have been standing there and staring at me for approximately forty-seconds. I believe you wanted to catch my attention?”

 

Jim could feel him opening his mouth and then after a moment, he closed it. “Uhm,” Jim started but once again, he couldn’t continue the sentence. His mind went blank and for unknown reasons, his cheeks were reddening even more. 

 

Maybe he was embarrassed at being caught staring at the alien. 

 

Jim immediately looked to his feet and took in a deep breath. “Nothing actually,” Jim finally said, finding his voice. 

 

“I beg your pardon?” Spock questioned. 

 

“I mean,” Jim continued before he finally gathered the courage to look back at Spock. “I—just saw you outside here and…came.”

 

That sounded really bad, Jim noted in his head. He saw how Spock’s eyebrows climbed his forehead from under the cap’s shadow. The Vulcan stared at Jim before he quirked his lips downwards into a frown. “I do not understand the notion of you coming here after you have seen me.”

 

Jim honestly didn’t understand why he came here either. “I don’t know?” Jim said as he shrugged. “I guess…I just wanted to talk to you.”

 

Spock immediately took a step back from Jim. The blond-haired cadet noticed the move and frowned. Spock’s shoulders went stiff and squared as if he was about to get shot at. “I believe that is not wise of you to do, cadet.”

 

“What do you mean?” Jim asked. Spock simply continued to look at Jim like he was about to get harmed. The level of defensiveness in that single look caught the blond-haired man off guard. Had Jim once again said something that offended the Vulcan? He frowned deeper when Spock decided to take another step backwards in what seemed like caution. 

 

“I mean that it is not wise of you to overstep your boundaries, cadet,” Spock said mechanically. “There is nothing to gain on doing so otherwise.”

 

Jim could definitely feel the trickles of confusion starting to cement itself in his mind. It took a few seconds of staring at Spock’s emotionless expression before it finally dawned on him. Jim immediately took two steps back at the shock. 

 

“What? No! I don’t have a crush on you!” Jim exclaimed, his cheeks now once again took the rosy shade of red. Spock however didn’t seem convinced. “I—I didn’t come here to tell you I have a crush on you!”

 

“Perhaps you do not realise it, but your actions speak louder than your words,” Spock immediately attacked. Jim’s cheeks reddened even more. He felt once again embarrassed and most probably infuriated at the blatant accusation. 

 

“I don’t have that type of intention towards you,” Jim said, trying to keep check of his irritation. “I just thought it would be nice to talk to you.”

 

“I do not need the company,” Spock said as he kept his posture rigid. “You are here to do a mission. To complete a mission, regardless of which mission you will be picked for in the future. Thus, I suggest you to do so with the least possible nuisance.” 

 

Jim’s eyes widened at the words. He felt clammy inside and for unknown reasons, he felt disappointed that he was disregarded so easily. Jim’s frown deepened a bit more. What was this man’s problem? Jim didn’t come here with a neon sign saying he wanted to trouble Spock. “I thought we were fine. What’s gotten you so hostile—”

 

“Nothing,” Spock cut him off. “It is just professionalism.”

 

The blond-haired man found himself suddenly staring at a Vulcan who not only was—defensive but most probably cold. Jim knew that just because they had one conversation, it didn’t mean that they were good friends. Jim was a realist, so he knew that he shouldn’t be expecting much from someone he just met not more than forty-eight hours ago.

 

Professionalism. 

 

“If that is all,” Spock said and before Jim could retort, to solve this—this misunderstanding, Spock had walked away from him without so much of a second glance.Jim watched as Spock walked away from him. His heart felt uneasy knowing that somehow he had made a bad impression on the Vulcan. 

 

But it seemed like he had been making bad first impressions ever since he met the alien. 

 

He huffed out his breath and walked away from there as well. The sudden calmness he experienced when he talked to the Vulcan didn’t compare to the still coldness being emitted from him just now. Jim knew that his words were sometimes phrased a bit wrongly but he really didn’t want to trouble Spock. 

 

Truth to be told, he was caught off guard with the sharp words. Jim stopped walking immediately as he sighed to himself, running his fingers through his hair. He didn’t like misunderstandings. But he didn’t think this time, explaining himself would make it better. 

 

***

 

“Let me get this straight. He thought you had a crush on him and told you not to talk to him ever again?” 

 

“Well…when you phrase it like that, it makes me sound like a stalker.”

 

Bones snorted as he gave Jim a light smile. “How did you manage to make the hobgoblin hate you before forty-eight hours, I would never know.”

 

“He doesn’t hate me, Bones,” Jim said with a frown as he leaned against the wall of the room. His friend simply shrugged. “But—I…I didn’t even do anything to warrant him to say things like that!”

 

“He’s a Vulcan,” Bones said simply, as if it explained everything and somehow, it kind of did. Jim was still vague about their culture, about who they were in person. Perhaps his sudden interest in Spock had scared him? 

 

Jim felt uneasy at that thought. He didn't have any intention scaring him away. It was his nature, to be obnoxiously friendly to whoever he liked, to whoever he clicked. “He’s…complicated.”

 

“Well, what did you expect, Jim?” Bones asked. “He’s not one of us. You can’t get close to him. We don’t even know much about them. And here you are, thrusting yourself into his life.”

 

“That’s not fair,” Jim retorted. “I had one conversation with him. It wasn’t like I forced him to speak to me.”

 

Bones nodded. “But it still remains the fact that we don’t know much about them. If I were you, I would take that as a warning and leave the hobgoblin be. We’re here for something, Jim. Let’s not get ourselves involved in something that we’re not well-versed about, okay?”

 

Jim knew that Bones was right. No matter how fascinating the Vulcan was, it still remained that Jim didn’t know much about their race and their culture. But wasn’t that the reason why he was so intrigued with him? His heart gave a loud bump at the thought of Spock and his cheeks reddened slightly when he recalled how Spock looked like without the damn cap on.

 

Bones noticed the look and raised his eyebrows. “You’re red, kid.”

 

“What?” Jim asked as he touched his cheeks before clearing his throat. “Yeah. Fine. I guess you’re right.”

 

Bones eyed him for a minute before he grinned. “Of course I am.”

 

Jim rolled his eyes but the thought of Spock and his words was stuck with him for the rest of the day. 

 

***

 

He didn’t see Spock after that day. He couldn’t budge from his packed schedule to even breathe now. Before Jim knew it, one week had passed and so far, he had been getting green passes at every test and experiments he had done. 

 

Jim stared at the form in his hands and took in a deep breath. Today was the day. Today was the day he had to choose a path to expertise. His mind had made up the minute Scotty found him and dragged him to see the released blueprints of the mothership three days ago. She was beautiful, Jim concluded when he saw the 3-D model of the ship.

 

Jim never thought about captaining a starship before. But the thought slowly cemented in his mind when he finally got a glimpse on how she would look like once she was completed. Jim ticked under command track and nodded to himself. 

 

“You’re really going for that field,” Uhura said, her voice filtering through his thoughts. Jim glanced at her before he grinned. She smiled at him before she showed her form to him. Jim noted that she decided to expertise under ‘Linguistics and Communications’.

 

“I made up my mind,” Jim said and Uhura nodded. “It seemed like you’re going with what you’re good at.”

 

“Yeah,” Uhura said with a more meaningful smile. “I like languages and the way they mould in your mouth. And besides, this shouldn’t be too tough.”

 

Jim didn’t think it was that easy either, being a linguist. But Uhura had the passion for it, he could see it in her eyes every time she spoke to him about one of her vast knowledges of the languages she learned. Jim wouldn't have the patience to learn one language and this was over forty they were talking about. 

 

The blond-haired man admired her dedication and the respect for her grew the more he knew about her. “My next goal is to learn Vulcan.”

 

“In just eleven months?” Jim asked. 

 

“Wouldn’t hurt to try,” Uhura said confidently as she flashed him her grin. 

 

Jim guessed she was right. It definitely wouldn’t hurt her to try. “Good luck,” Jim wished her sincerely as he patted her shoulder. Uhura’s grin dimmed into a soft smile as she returned the gesture. 

 

“You too, Jim,” she said before she waved the form lightly in her hands. “Let’s hand this over.”

 

When Jim had walked to the person in charge, he took in a deep breath and handed the form to him. With that, he knew that he had sealed his faith. He was going to be in the command track. As he scanned the room, his eyes landed on—Spock. After one week of not having a glimpse of him, he thought that maybe he wouldn’t get to see the Vulcan anymore. 

 

But there he was, standing at a corner and monitoring everyone. Just as Jim’s eyes landed on him, Spock had looked at him as well. Immediately, the noise in the room went silent and his heart began to thump loudly again. His palms felt sweaty and his mind went blank—before he remembered what Spock had said to him that day. 

 

The Vulcan looked away, his shoulders once again tensed. Jim frowned as he looked away as well, looking down to his shoes and wondering what was this uneasiness in his chest. He rubbed it for a second before he took in a deep breath. He gathered the courage to look back at the corner only to find that Spock wasn’t there anymore. 

 

The uneasiness in his chest somehow grew.

 

Huh. 

 

Just what was that?

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Well, I know it's short, but I'm just testing this plot out to see if it'll work. Did it? I don't know how the procedures are to enter a space program, but I do know you need to pass certain tests and endurance experiments to be able to qualify to explore space. I think. Period. So, the rest, I'm just going by logic. Ahahaha...anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter. I hope it's also unique enough to keep you guys enticed! Let me know if you want me to continue and what you guys thought about this~ If you liked it, don't forget to leave a kudos too! Until then! -Krystal
> 
> Basic CSS Coding is provided by museaway


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